The Experiment Revisited
by Danigirl84
Summary: The Recess gang has grown up, and TJ and Spinelli are a couple. The pair has graduated college and returned home so that TJ can begin his new job. But not before he asks Spinelli a very important question. Please Read and Review.


**A/N: SO, I recently discovered all the old Recess episodes on youtube and have spent the last few weeks rewatching them and recalling some of my favorite childhood memories. After rewatching The Experiment for the 100****th**** time, I decided it was clear TJ and Spinelli belonged together and, since the creators of Recess weren't going to do anything about it, I decided to give it a go. So this is how I think things would have progressed between then, and if anyone disagrees, I don't care this is my fantasy. :-P**

**Sadly, Recess and all of my favorite characters belong to Paul and Joe. And Disney. **** I just get credit for the idea for this story. **

"TJ come on. Let me take this stupid blindfold off!" Spinelli exclaimed in displeasure. When TJ had come over to her apartment for their date she had known the second she saw his mischievous grin he had something big planned. And as soon as he had said it was a surprise and pulled the blindfold out she was pretty sure she wasn't going to like it. It had taken him twenty minutes to convince her to let him put the blindfold on her and lead her out into the cool autumn night, but she had finally consented once she realized that tonight there would be no deterring him.

"Not yet. Just a little bit further. "TJ said excitement ringing clearly in his voice.

"Can you at least tell me where we're going?"

"If I did that, it wouldn't be a surprise. Now sit back, shut up, and enjoy the ride." He said, turning to smile at her. "All will become clear soon."

With a huff, Spinelli leaned back in the passenger seat, allowing the cool air to whip past her face as she leaned out the window, and thought about how much their relationship had changed over the years. In elementary school it had all been about kickball and pranks, and just having fun. In middle school things had remained pretty much the same. It wasn't until high school that Spinelli had realized her feelings towards TJ had changed. She smiled slightly as she remembered the day she had looked up and realized her stocky, funny, lighthearted friend was actually…well…HOT.

It had been the last summer day before their senior year, and the gang had decided to spend it out by the pond. Spinelli had just laid out in the sun next to Gretchen, her iPod firmly in place, when a large shadow fell over her. Startled, she looked up, only to see TJ standing over her, laughing with Vince. They were both standing in nothing but their swim trunks as they prepared to jump in the pond, and she was surprised at the way her heart lurched as she looked at her closet friend. Sometime over the last year TJ had shed the baby fat, and thanks to all the time he spent hanging out with Vince while he was training, had developed some serious muscle tone. His once rounded face was now more mature and angular, with his more prominent jawline showing a hint of stubble. She was so focused on his newly muscular frame that it took a moment for her to realize TJ had been speaking to her for a few minutes.

_ "Huh?" she asked, shaking her head to clear the fog from her brain, as she looked into his hazel eyes._

_ "Geez Spin, what's up with you?" TJ asked rolling his eyes. "I said, are you coming in or what?"_

_ "Oh." She said, her brows creasing into a frown. "No. Can't you see Gretchen and I were getting ready to work on our tans?" she added, turning to her left only to realize that Gretchen was nowhere to be seen. Looking around, she quickly spotted a laughing Gretchen as she was dragged to the water's edge by Vince. _

_ "Looks like Gretchen changed her mind. So it's your choice. You can go in the easy way, or the Gretchen way." He said flicking a thumb over his shoulder to the now soaked Gretchen. _

_ "I'd like to see you try." She replied in a challenging tone, her chin jutting out in defiance. _

_With a mischievous grin, TJ reached down and scooped her into his arms in one swift motion as he took off for the water leaving her with little time to react. Before she could stop him he had leapt into the frigid water soaking them both. As they came up for air, laughing, she attempted to shove him back under the water, but he was able to deflect her attack easily, grabbing her wrists and pulling her close to his chest. As they stood in the water, looking deeply into each other's eyes the laughter slowly subsided and Spinelli became aware of the heat passing between them. Looking up into TJ's eyes, she was surprised to see a longing that matched her own. The trance was quickly broken however, as a wave of cold water cascaded over them. To their right, Vince and Mikey had begun a splashing war, and with one last glance back at Spinelli, TJ let her go and quickly swam over to the other's dunking Vince under the water as soon as he reached them, leaving Spinelli to contemplate her newly discovered feelings, and wonder if she had imagined the look TJ had given her._

A sudden lurch of the car over a speed bump brought her back to the present.

"Are we here?" She asked surprised at how quickly they had reached their destination.

"Not quite. I just have to get out real quick and open the gate." He said, his voice growing more distant as he left the car. With a low groan she heard a gate rolling back on its hinges, a sound that echoed into the night air.

"Gate? TJ, we are allowed to be here right?" She asked, concern growing in her voice. "Because if we're not, and someone sees us, I don't imagine it will be easy to explain what you are doing breaking into this place with a blindfolded girl in the middle of the night."

"Geez Spin, relax." He scoffed, and she could swear she heard him roll his eyes at her. "We have permission to be here ok? Now calm down and enjoy the ride. It's just a little bit further."

"Fine. I will just sit here quietly and wait for the police to show up and take you away."

"That's my girl." He said, patting her hand.

Sighing she leaned back in the seat, and tried to find a way to keep her restless mind occupied as she felt the car once again begin to move forward. Tapping her fingers along the window ledge, she heard the soft jingle of her charm bracelet, and as she traced the outlines of the various charms with her left hand she thought back to the day she had gotten it.

Despite their newly discovered feelings it had still been a few months before either she or TJ had done anything about it. It had been at his parent's annual Christmas Eve party which, since her family lived three houses away, she had attended for as long as she could remember. She had spotted TJ quickly, and after a few polite greetings to her various neighbors she had just begun to move towards the last place she had seen him when he appeared at her side. Nervously he had taken her over to the tree, and pulled a small, clumsily wrapped box from underneath and handed it to her.

"_Here. I just…thought you might like it." He said, shoving his hands into his pocket and staring intently at his shoes._

_Curious she opened the box, carefully removing the Christmas wrappings to discover a small charm bracelet inside. Removing it slowly, she held it up and studied the small charms in the twinkling lights of the tree. _

"_This one" he said, pointing to a small silver charm in the shape of a wrench, "is because your brother fixes cars and I know how much you love doing that with him. That one is because I know how much you like wrestling. The paint brush is because of what an amazing artist you are, and the S is because you like to go by Spinelli."_

"_What's this one for?" She asked turning the bracelet in her hand to the one charm he had failed to explain. It was a small red heart and as she looked closely she realized there appeared to be writing in it, but it was difficult to make out in the twinkling green and red lights._

_Swallowing nervously, he suddenly looked down at his feet again as he whispered, "That one represents me. Because…because I really like you Spinelli, and I want us to be more then friends. If…if you're interested." He added quickly at the end looking up at her, his expression a mixture of hope and uncertainty._

_As she continued to study the heart, she moved closer to a nearby table lamp and was finally able to make out the writing in it. A pair of initials were carved under the surface, with TJD & AS clear under the red hue of the stone. Smiling she took his hand and lead him towards the entryway. _

"_Where are we going?" he asked, confused._

"_Right here." She said confidently, pointing to the ceiling above their heads. Looking up, TJ realized she had led them to the mistletoe his father put up every year that everyone always ignored. As she watched his eyes widen in surprise, she quickly screwed up her courage and leaned up towards him. As she stood, her mouth inches from his waiting for him to make his move, the seconds ticked by, each one seeming to stretch for an eternity. Beginning to regret her decision, she had just begun to pull back when, for the second time in her life, she felt her best friends lips move against hers, igniting a fire in her chest. How long they stayed like that she was unsure of but they finally broke apart when she heard TJ's father loudly exclaim, "I knew that mistletoe would come in handy eventually!"_

To their surprise, it surprised no one when they told their friends they were officially a couple. Gretchen had nodded in a slightly patronizing way as she explained why, based on her observations of their psychological makeup, of course they were going to be together. Mikey had begun to wax philosophical about the wonders of love, and quickly buried his head in a notebook as he sought to write the perfect poem to commemorate their love. Vince and Gus had simply laughed, as Vince told TJ it was "about time" he had done something about his obvious feelings for Spinelli.

"Ok, we're here." He said, breaking her out of her reverie.

"Where's here?"

"That is still a surprise so don't even think about taking that blindfold off!" TJ said in a warning tone. "Here," he added, opening the passenger door, "Take my hand and follow me."

Slowly they made their way across a parking lot, TJ pausing to help Spinelli onto the sidewalk. As they made their way across the sidewalk she caught the familiar scent of Kelso's chocolate M&M shakes and couldn't help but shake her head in amusement that they had ended up back in Pennsylvania. After high school, they had felt it would be nice to get a fresh start, and had both applied and been accepted to schools in Southern California. After four years though, they had realized they missed home, and so after graduation they had packed up their things and moved back when TJ had found a local teaching job. It had been Principle Prickley who had contacted TJ after he had gotten his teaching degree, explaining how he had always believed former trouble makers made the best teachers, and had helped him secure his new position as a fourth grade teacher back at Third Street. They had enjoyed a celebratory dinner with Principle Prickley the other night, who had been surprisingly good humored about their past misdeeds, even laughing with them about the time TJ had gotten ahold of the PA system and said he had a saggy butt, and the time TJ forged his signature to rent a boat.

"This is it!" TJ said excitedly, pulling Spinelli to a stop.

"TJ, I smell garbage. A lot of garbage. You did not take me to a dump. Tell me we are not in a dump."

"Just a second," he said, turning her slightly back and forth until he had her in the exact spot he wanted. "Ok, you can take it off now."

Relieved to finally be free of the thing, she quickly ripped the blindfold from her face, and took a moment as her eyes slowly adjusted to the light. Scanning her surroundings she quickly found the source of the smell, as she realized they were in fact standing right next to a large garbage bin on a stretch of blacktop, a few yards from a large yellow building.

"Teej," she asked in a questioning tone, "where are we right now?"

Disappointment shone clearly on his face. "You don't recognize it?"

"Um…it's a garbage can."

"Yeah, but where is this garbage can?"

Sighing, she looked at her surroundings once more, this time examining things more closely. Spinning in a slow circle she once again saw the garbage bin near the yellow building, but as she began to turn other details caught her eye. Fifty yards away was the parking lot they had just come from, and through the fence that enclosed the area she could see TJ's blue Camry parked in the distance. Across the blacktop was a basketball court and what appeared to be a couple of foursquare courts painted onto the ground near a few old aluminum picnic tables, a tether ball swaying close by in the light breeze. As she continued turning to the right, she saw the edge of a large grass field, noting the swing set and teeter totters, and what appeared to be a kickball field set far back from where they were standing. Finally, she spotted a large piece of playground equipment, which she immediately recognized as Old Rusty.

"Oh my god. Are we are at Third Street?" She asked, completing her circle to face TJ once more.

"Yep." He said a huge smile lighting his face. "And this is the garbage bin where we had our first kiss. Do you remember that day?"

"Do I remember?" she asked, quickly closing the space between them, wrapping her arms around his neck. "I believe it went a little something like this." And with that she pulled him down towards her, their lips quickly molding to each other's, finding a familiar rhythm as they moved together in a slow passionate kiss. After a few minutes, TJ finally broke away, his easy grin quickly returning, as a fire burned in his eyes. "Well, maybe not entirely like that," she said.

"You're right," he said with a laugh. "If I recall correctly, you had to be dragged kicking and screaming to that kiss by Vince, and afterwards you said, and I quote 'Yuck. Puke city.'"

"Hey. It's not like you were that crazy about it either." She said, laughing at the memory as she took a step back to take in the playground once more. "You asked for mouthwash and said you were never going to want to kiss us girls."

"I didn't mean it ya know." He said quietly, his face suddenly serious. "When we kissed. I was just afraid to admit how much I had liked it. We were ten. We weren't supposed to like girls. So I said what I knew everyone wanted to hear. That was the moment though. The moment I knew."

"Knew what?" she asked, pulling her gaze from old Rusty. As TJ's hazel eyes locked with hers, she was taken aback by the intensity of his stare. His eyes seem to burn through her, and her heart sped up as she realized how important this moment was to him.

"Knew that you were the one for me." He said slowly, seeming to choose his words with care. "I spent a lot of time thinking about where I wanted to do this. We have a lot of great memories together, and a lot of special places but this was the place where I realized how special you were to me. Spin," he asked taking a deep breath and reaching into his pocket, "Will you marry me?"

As she stared in shock at the ring box he held before her tears sprang into her eyes. Unable to speak, she simply nodded her yes. With a whoop of delight, TJ quickly removed the small diamond from the box and placed it on her finger, sweeping her into a tight embrace. After a few moments, he pulled away a soft smile lighting his face as he looked down at the woman he was going to marry.

"Does this mean I can call you Ashley now?" He teased lightly.

Her expression quickly changed to one of annoyance as she reached out with her left arm and socked him in the shoulder with all her might. "I told you. NO ONE calls me Ashley."

"Ow, ok." He grimaced rubbing his shoulder. "You know, that hurts a lot more with a ring."

"And don't you forget it." She said smiling as she leaned forward to give him a quick kiss. "Now come on. Last one on old Rusty has to give Miss Finster a sponge bath!" And with a quick shove and a laugh, she took off onto the playground where their earliest memories had been made, excitement running through her at the prospect of the ones that were still to come.


End file.
